Pokemon Destiny: The Path of Legends Part 05
by Boredstick
Summary: Well... Chapter 5 is done... now working on Chapter 6


_Chapter __5: A Better Place _

It was quiet. Dead quiet. Flames erupted from the treetops, as the local Pokemon in the forest fled in horror from a massive firestorm. But everyone in the area were safe and alright, something had interfered with the bomb. Officer Jenny recalled her Pokemon, as she noticed that James was missing. She had found the bomb, wired to the tent´s foundation, and told him to throw it into the lake before it would blow up. The bomb blew up just at the edge of the lake, and James was nowhere to be seen. Knowing that the men need her, Jenny put aside her emotions for the moment and went towards Mount Quena.

The Team Rocket Grunts, surprised that the police force had escaped the explosion, were reluctant to battle them, when suddenly Jesse came, strengthening their morale and driving them with fear, as she called out Seviper and continued the attack against the police. Pokemon from all sides battled, as attacks flew all over the place. Seviper began to encounter heavy resistance from the police, as Jesse still continued to force it to battle the enemy no matter what would happen. Zapdos continued to pursue any enemy presence in the air, as Lance and his Dragonite tried to block it´s attacks as long as it can, as Oak and his Dragonite made a path through the enemy by using Hyperbeam. Brock, using Steelix, was easily defeating anyone who tried to stop him from leading the way to HQ. Suddenly Brock saw a familiar face among the enemy grunts: Bianca.

Used as a human shield, Bianca stood in front Jesse and her Seviper, as the Police Pokemon couldn´t use their Pokemon in her direction without risking hitting her. A mighty roar was heard, as Ash´s Charizard came out of nowhere and headed right for Bianca, as it grabbed her and took off before the enemy could react. Skarmory tried to pursue Charizard to get to her, but were quickly interrupted and fled thanks to Tracey´s Scyther.

Furious that she had lost Bianca, Jesse withdrew some of her men, as she suddenly got a call from some troops headed towards Purity Canyon. She acknowledged, and then gathered everyone together:

- Listen up troops! I just got word that the men that have captured the other legendaries as well as extracted Jirachi will soon arrive here! We need to clear a path for them when they arrive! Let´s move it!

Giovanni entered his monitor room, as he then continued into the concealed room to check why Butch and Cassidy didn´t answer him. He opened the door, as he saw Butch and Cassidy, lying on the floor unconscious for unknown reasons, as Giovanni quickly checked the monitor: Nothing, just static. Worried that Ash might have escaped, Giovanni quickly called for security and told them to come to the monitor room, as he also set off the alarm, as the grunts inside HQ started to sweep every inch of the place in search of Ash. Giovanni supervised their search on the monitor, afraid that something might have happened to his own son.

Giovanni then got confirmation that Articuno and Moltres have been successfully captured, and that the grunts were on their way to HQ. Dr Yung then entered the room, as he bowed down to Giovanni:

- My deepest apologies for the delay, but the wait is now over sir: I have tested the Synergy Energizer, and it works perfectly: We used the special Pikachu as you requested, and as we commenced the process I got unbelievable results. The energy not only increased dramatically in intensity, but literary was multiplied by a factor of 5. And since we successfully managed to brainwash the Pikachu, Namba decided to fit it with the new device used in the Fury and Rage project. Your wish has been fulfilled Giovanni sir, the Pikachu is now under your direct control, and is definitely the most powerful Pokemon you have in your possession.

-You barely made it in time, I just got word that the grunts from Forina are just a few minutes away, and that the bomb was a failure! My enemies managed to escape the blast, and now our forces down there are paying the price. Still, prepare the device to do the same for the Jirachi Pokemon, as I need that energy to be able to continue with the next phase of my plan. Any news from the medical section regarding the girl?

- Not much sir, May Taylor´s memories has been successfully extracted, but the doctors ran into some complications, which weakened her more than we expected. But everything seems to be under control sir.

- Seems is not enough, I need complete control in order for all of this to work: Everything is connected, if one part fails than so will the others. Either way, it´s time I test your work…where is the Pikachu?

- It´s still in the lab sir, undergoing some test to truly test it´s capacity. Professor Namba is eager to see how his new device works in comparison to his old and crude one. Still, shall I send Pikachu to you sir?

- No, not yet. Let the Pikachu free here in HQ, perhaps it can find Ash Ketchum, and hopefully show the boy that I am a man of my word: If he interferes, then something bad will definitely happen…

Ash began to wake up, as he found himself floating in a large pool, identical to the one at the Cerulean Gym. Ash noticed that he somehow could breathe underwater, as he then tried to swim, but he couldn´t get anywhere. The pool was dark, and despite that it was pitch black, Ash could slightly see in front of him, as if he could see in the dark. Suddenly Ash saw a ray of light coming from an edge of the pool. Ash quickly gathered strength, as he then managed to swim towards the light. As Ash rose up from the pool onto land he then noticed that he was totally dry, as if he never touched the water. Ash realised that it all must be some sort of illusion or mirage, as he was now inside the pool area in the Cerulean Gym. Ash went towards the main door, when suddenly he heard nearby footsteps, as he turned around to see who it was. It was Misty.

She came running from the main door, as she turned around and locked it tight and released her Pokemon, ordering them to stand guard. Realising that he was reliving her memory, Ash stood aside and watched.

Misty dialled the number to Oak´s lab, but even though she came through the connection was bad. She told Tracey everything she knew, as the barricades within the gym were broken through. Misty lost contact with Tracey as the main entrance was breached. Butch and Cassidy came forth and told her that they have orders to apprehend her, and as she suspected that Giovanni might have targeted her and the rest, she pleaded to them to leave her alone or she would defend herself no matter what. Ash interfered by standing in front to protect Misty from any harm, but then remembered that it isn´t real, he´s just seeing what happened before.

Butch and Cassidy declined, as Misty prepared to run away swiftly. Sableye suddenly came forth and hit her with a direct attack, as Butch and Cassidy called forth their other Pokemon to battle the gym Pokemon. Minutes later, after the battle had ended, Butch and Cassidy suddenly noticed that Misty was nowhere to be seen, when they saw a terrible sight. She was unconscious and in the pool. With Sableye holding Togepi, Cassidy ordered Mightyena to dive in and get her up, and as it rose from the water Butch saw that Misty was badly hurt. Horrified by what he had just witnessed, Ash shouted to Butch and Cassidy to help her.

With the gym about to collapse, they got into the helicopter and flew away, as Butch informed Giovanni of the serious incident. Giovanni gave them a secure location to land, as Misty was transported to a secret facility. Fearing that her head trauma and drowning might have given her lethal injuries, the doctors tried everything they had to help her, but as minutes went by Misty got deeper and deeper into a coma.. The doctors put her in a temporary stasis, as she was flown separately to HQ where other scientists and doctors awaited their arrival. Ash, heartbroken and in tears of what had happened to Misty, tried to pursue the helicopter, when suddenly he slipped and fell, as he was in the pool again. He then remembered what the computer screen had shown him previously before: It indicated that she was in a critical condition. Misty was dying from her wounds.

Ash called out for Misty, when suddenly he saw something ahead, coming towards him very fast. Ash was surprised by what he saw ahead of him, something he did not expect to encounter. He saw The Unown.

Butch and Cassidy were recovering from whatever happened to them, as Giovanni threw a glass of water in their faces to quickly wake them up. They both then apologised, as Giovanni hissed at them, angry.

- You two better have a very good explanation, or else I´ll send you out in the battlefield where I promise that you won´t fall asleep. Now explain, what the hell happened in there with you two? Tell me now!

- Our sincerest apologies Giovanni sir: Me and Butch really have no idea what happened: I was monitoring Ash Ketchum, when we noticed that Jesse left him alone, and as the device tried to extract memories from the boy we just passed out: I have no idea what could do this, but the latest log indicates that there was a complication when trying to scan for the Unown. Please sir, give us a chance to make it right! We won´t fail again!

- Unown? This can´t be a coincidence… very well, I have an assignment for you: The troops from Forina will shortly arrive from the eastern landing-pad, so as soon as they land you and Butch take Jirachi and hand it over to Dr Yung, if necessary then bring Max Taylor with you. Afterwards you go and assist Jesse until the other Legendary Birds are under our control. Don´t fail me again, or else…

Butch and Cassidy rushed to the elevator and went down, as Giovanni went through the recording system. Nothing was recorded from the incident with Ash´s extraction. Giovanni then went through all the security cameras, when he suddenly saw that the door to Misty´s chamber was gone, it was replaced by a wall instead. Puzzled about what have recently happened, Giovanni ordered the grunts to head over to Misty´s chamber.

Meowth was calling out for James, worried after what Officer Jenny had told him about the bomb. Meowth then saw James, lying unconscious on the ground. The shockwave from the blast had thrown James right into a large tree-trunk, as he hit his head hard. Meowth tried to wake him up, but apparently James was too weak to regain consciousness. Brock then came to se what had happened, as he called out to Meowth.

- Thank god you´re here twerp, James hit his head bad, and I not strong enough to drag him back to the tent. I don´t know how he avoided to blow himself up, but I´m just glad the he´s alive, and in one piece!

-We´ll have to check him out in the tent, I´ll carry him while you go head of me. I barely got away from the major battle to look for you guys, glad that I found you two. Are you alright Meowth? Are you hurt?

- Yeah I´m just fine, but I don´t know what to do about Jess: She isn´t herself you know, we need to help her before something bad happens to her. Do you think you can help me get her back?

- I don´t know, she and Seviper really don´t seem to stop for anything in the world, and I´m positive that we´re not exactly someone she wants to see right now. But I´ll try to do what I can ok?

Brock then carried James, as Meowth went ahead, keeping an eye out for the enemy. Suddenly a big shout was heard, as Brock was thrown aside. It was James, he had woken up, as he tried to stand up on his feet.

- James what are you doing, he´s trying to help you! Remember the bomb, you threw it into the lake and probably got hurt pretty bad. C´mon now, let´s go back and fight Team Rocket together with the good guys!

- Ah, I feel like my head is splitting, I can´t remember anything that´s happened! It´s all a blur to me….but wait… I remember… my allegiance to Team Rocket, and my dear Jessie… my partner… my friend…

- Listen James, Jessie has been brainwashed by Giovanni to do whatever he wants her to, and Meowth told me that she tried to brainwash you too! Come with us and we´ll help you remember everything!

Reluctant to cooperate, James quickly fled and headed towards Mount Quena, as Brock had too choice but to follow and get to James before he would encounter Jessie and the rest if the grunts.

The Unown quickly surrounded Ash, as he had the same feeling as before: It must have been the Unown that were watching him. Ash asked them what was going on, and why he was here with them. The Unown quickly responded, as they used Psychic to somehow serve as a channel between Ash and something ahead of the pool. Ash then heard Misty´s voice, as he called out for her, telling her to come towards his voice. Ash saw that the Unknown then started to head towards her and began to surround her protectively , as Ash had a very strange feeling about her, that something was very different with Misty. She then looked at Ash.

-Ash… I don´t have much time… so listen to what I have to say. The Unown, for some apparent reason, kept a connection to me since we left Greenfield, and it wasn´t until I passed out in the gym that they revealed themselves to me. With their help I managed to stay alive as long as I could, enough to be able to gather strength to pay attention to my surroundings: I overheard Giovanni´s conversation with his scientists, and what he plans to do. He´s planning to use a device to recall some sort of powerful comet so that he can drain the energy out of it. I can´t imagine what could happen if he succeeds Ash… You have to stop him Ash.

- You mean… The Millennium Comet? But what about you Misty?! I read something on the computer, about you dying in about 5 min or so, and now I´m here, trapped in an illusion…. What is going on?!

- Yeah, what you say is actually true… the doctors and Unown have done what they can for me… but still… but if it´s any comfort Ash… I´m glad that I managed to reach out to you before it was too late…

- No you can´t do this to me! We swore that we would reunite one day and see each other again, and I´ll do anything to keep our promise! There has to be something I can do, it can´t just end this way Misty!

- There isn´t a way Ash… I´m so sorry that it had to end this way… there´s too little time to say goodbye… but at least I got to see you once again. Now go Ash, hurry and go to the engineering bay, that´s were Giovanni´s has his main energy reactors. You have to destroy them, and help release everyone else that are captured, and hopefully it won´t be too late to stop Giovanni from calling back the comet to the planet.

- But how, when I don´t even know where to look: I don´t have my Pokemon, the grunts are probably looking after me, and the security must be impossible to break through. Help me Misty! I need you! Please!

She suddenly got silent, as the Unown withdrew from her. Suddenly Ash was back at the chamber, as everything was back to normal in there. He rushed to the board were Misty was, but there was nothing he could do. She took her last breath, as she then passed away. She was gone. Ash, heartbroken and sorrowful, stood next to her, begging her to come back, as he then heard that the grunts outside tried to get through the locked door to get to him. With no other choice, and reluctant to leave Misty behind like that, Ash managed to find an airvent, and had no choice but to climb in and escape from the chamber. The grunts then got in.

Delia woke up, as she slowly realised that she had been moved from Giovanni´s chamber to another room. She then noticed that she still had handcuffs, as she shouted out for anyone to take them of her immediately.

Suddenly the elevator doors opened, as Giovanni came out with May, traumatised by what she had to go through with the Memory Retrieval Program. Giovanni uncuffed May and removed her gag, as he gave May the keys to go and uncuff Delia, as he told them both to behave, or they would be restrained again, as Giovanni entered the elevator and went back up. May nearly passed out due to everything that she had endured before.

- Oh dear May, are you alright?! What have they done to you?! Did they try to brainwash you or something, I heard Giovanni talk about some device that can alter someone´s mind and form it as Gio wants it to be?!

- I´m so tired… they went deep and eventually found out about Forina… and The Millenium Comet… I don´t know why they would need that information… god I´m so weak… I have to rest… gotta lie down…

- The Millenium Comet? The comet that stores energy and returns every thousand years? Maybe that´s what Giovanni managed to extract from Max, and is now after Jirachi by using him as bait…

- What, Max is in danger?! I got to… oh god my head hurts…, I don´t what they are going to do with what I have told them, maybe Ash can find and rescue us before they do it again… I hope…

- I´m so sorry you had to get involved in this May: Ash has also been captured, and Team Rocket has brainwashed your brother into thinking that he´s one of them. I just hope Ash is safe and alright…

- We have to get out of here Miss Ketchum, and the only way is through the elevator. But we can´t get in there unless someone comes here. I´m too weak to do anything by myself, can you help me up?

May put her left arm around her, as Delia shouted towards the elevator and some cameras that May was in a very bad condition, trying to lure someone down. It worked, as the elevator began to move down.

The doors opened, as Giovanni and Max came out. With Max there, Delia could not attack and try to flee into the elevator. Giovanni took out a syringe and gave it to Delia, now sitting on the bed with May.

- The doctors told me that some side effects could eventually happen, but inject this into the girl and she will be just fine. Max, can you please escort your sister to the other room. I need to talk to Delia alone.

Max acknowledged, as he helped May stand up and entered a concealed door leading to another room, as he helped May get into a bed for her to rest. Max then sat on a chair and kept a close eye on May.

- Delia… I´m sorry that I have to tell you this…. But I just got informed that Misty Williams just passed away… my men found out when they entered her chamber in search of our son. I´m sorry dear…

- It´s all your fault Gio! If you weren´t so vengeful then this would never have happen! I loved Misty like a daughter! And although I, by a miracle, may be able to forgive you one day, I doubt that Ash can!

- I´m sorry! I never meant for this to happen! I know how much she meant to you and Ash! I did everything I could! Even my doctors admit that it was inevitable. Though I knew that this might have happened…

- It´s what you have done that is of significance, not what you tried to do. You are responsible for her death: You killed her Gio! And now you claim that somehow you knew she was going to die? You´re crazy!

- Keep your voice down Delia, these walls aren´t soundproof, and the girl in the next room needs to rest. You can call me all the names that you want, but it won´t change the fact that I tried to stay with you, but I feared that you would leave me if you knew who I really was. In the beginning, my great grandfather didn´t start Team Rocket as an vicious, evil organisation that it seems to be today, but to help catch rare Pokemon to give to scientists and researchers just like Professor Oak: Of course Team Rocket wanted some form of payment, so they ´´traded´´ Pokemon for money. But it all changed when my great grandfather was murdered by a rival organisation when in pursuit of Mew, and even today I suspect it was either Team Aqua or Team Magma that are responsible for his death. That day changed history forever Delia. That´s how it all started.

- I… I didn´t know that… but even so, you still lead this organisation with an iron fist, and you won´t let anyone get in your way. You could have changed history and instead done good deeds. Why didn´t you?

- As always, power corrupts even those who believe they have enough power to not be corrupted: My father swore that he would find the murderer, and told Team Rocket to scour the entire world for every trace of the killer. While some grunts did their job well, some got involved in more criminal ways, and some even betrayed Team Rocket by joining the rivals. The police declared Team Rocket as lawless, and issued an arrest warrant for my father, currently seeing my mother. Luckily she, being the daughter of a wealthy and rich businessman, managed to break my father from jail, and together they evaded the police until the charges were dropped. In return she wanted a legendary Pokemon, and eventually fell in love with him as well, not just his seat of power. But shortly afterwards, the suicide happened, and it changed my life forever for the worse…

Distant from the battle, Ritchie had managed to find a part of the mountain were it was a slight possibility to climb up. Knowing that Ash and May could be in serious trouble, Ritchie decided to take a risk and try to climb up the mountain wall without safety or help. Suddenly Tracey ran towards Ritchie, as he told him that it´s too risky to go by himself, let alone climb up a hazardous mountain. Ritchie refused to listen.

- I have to go, I promised May that I would help her get Max back, and I intend to keep that promise! Besides, if she and Ash are in trouble, then I have no time to waste, I have to go help them Tracey!

- Me too, but we need all the help we can get with battling Team Rocket: Jesse has gathered together her men, and some of our scouts have detected their reinforcements just minutes away. We need you!

- If I can get into HQ, I can cripple their defences as well as clear the way for Brock, as he´s leading the police towards HQ. I know what I´m doing Tracey, trust me! Are you with me or not?

Knowing that it´s risky, Tracey wished Ritchie good luck, as he went back to help battle Team Rocket. Ritchie told Sparky to hold on tight, and keep guard for enemies, as Ritchie started to climb up.

Charizard got to the Police HQ, as it dropped off Bianca and headed back towards the battle, as it immediately was intercepted by Skarmory, trying to take Charizard down with Steel Wing and Swift. Charizard, being excellent in aerial combat, evaded the attacks and drove away most of the Skarmory with it´s Flamethrower while trying to avoid getting too close to Lance and Zapdos, fiercely battling for air supremacy.

Despite his efforts to try inflict minimal damage to Zapdos, Lance understood that it wouldn´t take too long until he would lose the fight if he doesn´t play it rough enough. Lance told Dragonite to prepare for a Hyperbeam, as it gathered strength to prepare for the massive attack. Zapdos, seeing an opportunity, quickly charged towards Dragonite. Charizard was just about to protect Lance when it heard a scream:

It was Ritchie. He had slipped and fallen a distance down the wall, as he began to lose his grip. Ritchie held as much as he could,, but it wasn´t enough. Ritchie lost his grip and fell down from the mountain wall...

Chapter 6… not to far off in the future…


End file.
